Copper-infused products and their potential impact in fighting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are not new to our industry. But as emphasis grows on reducing readmission rates, increasing patient satisfaction, and cutting the alarming cost of HAIs (estimated to add $28-45 billion to annual U.S. healthcare costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), is it time to revisit the topic?
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
Geoffrey Roehll is senior vice president with Hitchcock Design Group (Naperville, Ill.), specializing in landscape architecture and site design for hospitals and healthcare facilities. Here, he shares his thoughts on healing gardens and creative fundraising efforts to build facility gardens.
Laura Poltronieri, AIA
Principal, Poltronieri Tang & Associates (PT&A; Swarthmore, Pa.)
Completion date: Opened September 17, 2013
Total building area: 750,000 sq. ft.
Total cost: $400 million
Owner: Hospital for Sick Children
Architecture and interior design: Diamond Schmitt Architects
Contracting and construction: EllisDon Corp.
Engineering: Halcrow Yolles (structural); H. H. Angus (mechanical and electrical)
Carpet/flooring: Interface
Doors: Fulton, Lambton
Locks/hardware: Medico, Sargent Assa Abloy
SickKids Research Institute’s mission is to improve the health of children, but the hospital-based research center was experiencing its own set of growing pains.
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
Michael Lied is a principal and director of healthcare for GBBN Architects (Cincinnati). Here, he shares his thoughts on using design to build brand loyalty and how the first five minutes in a facility can be the most critical.
1. Brand loyalty must run deep
Looking for a little inspiration to kick-start your new design year? Several color companies have announced their Colors of the Year, taking a marked departure from last year’s emerald, aloe, and yellow hues.
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
Quentin Elliott is director of healthcare design at Moody Nolan (Columbus, Ohio). Here, he shares his thoughts on key elements for pediatric ambulatory care spaces, including designing positive distractions to improve the experience and using color and images to appeal to kids from newborn to their twenties.
In Healthcare Design’s December issue, I wrote an update on building materials and the desire for more transparency as the industry moves beyond a single attribute and looks for a broader understanding of what materials are made of.
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
Robin Guenther is a principal with Perkins+Will at its New York office and co-author of Sustainable Healthcare, Architecture, Second Edition, with Gail Vittori. To kick off the new year, Guenther counts down her top five ideas that will influence healthcare in 2014, ranked in order of growing importance.
5. Resilience
In 2008, Cardiff University, a member of the Russell Group of Universities, embarked on the development of a masterplan, known as Maindy Road Campus.
In this series, Healthcare Design asks leading healthcare design professionals, firms, and owners to tell us what’s got their attention and share some ideas on the subject.
